Hormonal, experiential and GABAergic influences on aggressive behaviors in female CFW mice

Female mice may transiently display aggression during lactation whereas singly-housed, ovariectomized (OVX) female mice are often non-aggressive. We have found that OVX, nulliparous female mice, pair-housed with a gonadally intact male, often develop consistent aggression. These experiments were designed to examine hormonal, experiential, social and neurochemical substrates of aggression in female CFW mice. These studies assessed: (1) effects of estradiol on aggression in OVX females with maternal aggressive experience, (2) effects of social instigation on aggression in females with differential maternal aggression experience, (3) effects of ethanol on aggression in OVX nulliparous females, (4) sex differences following ethanol. Estradiol induced aggression in three non-aggressive females. Social instigation did not alter aggression systematically. Ethanol significantly increased aggression following the 1.0 g/kg dose and several intrinsic and ethanol-related sex differences were revealed. These results inform our knowledge of several different influences leading to the elicitation and augmentation of aggression in female mice.